Doctors in Fiji have advised him to have a full medical examination in Australia, he said.

Mr. Chaudhry is on a weeklong visit as a guest of the Australian government. He met with Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday.

Mr. Chaudhry called for international intervention to ensure the rights of all of Fiji's ethnic groups.

He said: "The only way equal political rights can be granted to all people of Fiji would be through international intervention through organizations like the United Nations and Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as regional groups here in the Pacific."

He said he believes the new constitution Fiji's interim government is working towards will...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (July 31, 2000 – The National)---Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta announced on Friday that the government intends to introduce legislation providing for salary caps on top executives in the public service and statutory organizations.

"People writing up their own contracts is a sign of disaster in the system. We have no choice but to correct it." Sir Mekere said.

The Prime Minister was replying to a question from Goroka MP Henry Smith who asked whether the government can introduce legislation for uniform salary packages.

"I am seriously looking at legislation for caps to be put in place, for example at K 100,000 US$ 38,000)," Sir Mekere said.

The Prime Minister also said he would obtain legal opinion on whether new legislation put in place can also "nullify" existing contracts.

Corporatization and Privatization Minister Vincent Auali also issued a statement outlining the packages paid to the...

TOKYO, Japan (July 31, 2000 – Radio Australia)---The United States again has warned Japan over its controversial decision to expand its Pacific scientific whaling program to two new species, saying the move could result in U.S. sanctions.

Speaking in Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Washington was deeply troubled by what was happening, viewing it as contrary to existing whaling agreements.

The Secretary of State's remarks came after a meeting with her Japanese counterpart, Yohei Kono.

Last week, President Bill Clinton wrote to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to protest Japan's decision to include in its whaling program sperm and Bryde's whales.

JAYAPURA, West Papua (July 30, 2000 – Radio Australia)---At least 15,000 separatists have staged a peaceful protest in the West Papua town of Manokwari to mark the controversial 1969 referendum that turned western New Guinea island from a Dutch colony into an Indonesian province.

The state Antara news agency said the Papuans covered a monument commemorating the referendum with black cloth, saying it was a monument to an historical lie.

The ceremony at the People's Referendum Monument was led by the chairman of the Manokwari Tribal Institute, Barnabas Mandacan.

The separatist Morning Star flag was raised, along with the Indonesian red-and-white banner.

Mr. Mandacan told the gathering that the Indonesian government should understand that the people of West Papua wanted their rights back.

The Vanua‘aku Pati, led by Father Walter Lini, spearheaded the struggle for independence in the country and was in government until 1991 when the French-speaking minority won office.

Since the late 1980s, there has been an increase in various factions of the leading parties and a growing number of coalitions in government.

Is this a sign of growing political instability or healthy democracy at work?

Edward Natapei, now leader of the opposition Vanua‘aku party, told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat that it's a bit of both.

"The main causes of instability in Vanuatu have been mainly influenced from interest groups and individuals from houses who have found their way into key positions in political parties. They’ve been able to influence leaders...

SUVA, Fiji Islands (July 31, 2000 – Fiji’s Daily Post/Pasifik Nius/Niuswire)---Fiji faces many unanswered questions about the attempted coup and the aftermath of last week’s arrest of rebel leader George Speight and more than 380 of his followers, says Daily Post editor Mesake Koroi.

Writing in his popular weekly "Politics Today" column, Koroi says the 71 days of "groping around in the political wilderness" are now history and perhaps a "Nukulau Accord" will be needed to end the rebels’ detention.

"Since their arrest many questions still need to be answered. Are they political prisoners?" Koroi wrote.

"For how long can the military and the police keep them in detention before being brought to answer charges? Obviously, the military believe George and his cronies are a threat to national security."

"Perhaps that is why they (Speight, seven of his ringleaders and 12 soldiers from the First Meridian Squadron, formerly the Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Unit...

Government sources told the Post-Courier this was due to tension between Mr. Yuwa and Ramo Dasabya, a Cabinet minister in the last Solomon Islands government.

The Foreign Affairs Department has recommended to the National Executive Council that the PNG office in Honiara be closed for security reasons.

Sources said the tension between the two men started after the death of an Eastern Highlander in the Solomon Islands. They claimed Mr. Ponabe had called the minister to help with funeral arrangements for the Papua New Guinean, but the minister had slammed the phone down.

Sources said that during the incident and just as PNG citizens were about to be repatriated, Mr. Dasabya's brother tried to talk to Mr....

PAPEETE, French Polynesia (July 31,2000 – Oceania Flash/SPC)---French Polynesia's flag carrier Air Tahiti Nui (ATN) has opened its stock to the public in a bid to collect some 300 million French Pacific Francs (CFP, US$ 2,331,899 million), the daily newspaper La DépÃªche de Tahiti reports.

Around 40 percent of the sum (117.5 million CFP/US$ 913,327) is to be taken care of by the Territory (which holds 39 percent of the stock), leaving 182.5 million CFP (US$ 1,418,572) to be found.

This is the eighth call for subscriptions launched by ATN. Subscriptions opened last June 15 and will close at the end of August.

At a Board meeting last month, General Manager Nelson Levy said ATN, after analyzing the results of one and a half years of operation, could break even financially two years from now.

Seat occupancy rates for one of its most popular routes, Tahiti-Los Angeles, has steadily increased by 30 percent during the first half of 2000, he said.

MAJURO, Marshall Islands (July 19, 2000 – Marshall Islands Journal)---While the Marshalls and FSM were blasted by some Congressional leaders and a GAO audit late last month, Foreign Secretary Marie Maddison said the Washington hearing ended on a much more positive note.

(SEE: TRANSCRIPT: A Hearing On U.S. Assistance To Micronesia And The Marshall Islands: U.S. House International Relations Committee)

Maddison, who spent much of her time on damage control at and following the highly charged hearing, said simply, "The Marshalls needs to do a lot of awareness raising."

Guam Congressman Robert Underwood came to the rescue of the Marshall Islands and FSM during the Congressional hearing in Washington in which the islands faced a barrage of criticism over government spending – but weren’t allowed to speak.’’

Underwood’s comments, Maddison said, helped to underline the point that after 40 years of non-...

SUVA, Fiji Islands (July 31, 2000 - PINA Nius Online)---There's a new player in television in the Pacific. Not Turner Broadcasting or Time Warner, but Tonga TV.

Tonga TV became the second television broadcasting unit in the Kingdom on July 4th, 2000. The launch was timed to honor King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV’s birthday. In typical island style, the inaugural broadcast came together in the last moments before going on the air, after weeks of practice, months of preparation and years of planning.

Conrad Mill, team leader and television specialist in the media center at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, arrived from Fiji to assist one week before the launch.

"I have to admit, when I first arrived I felt very uneasy. They hadn't gotten their transmission mast up yet, some things weren't done and they were going on air within the week," says Mill. "At first I thought it wouldn't work, but they are a great team, and it came together nicely...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.